Dayton Philharmonic Shines a Spotlight on a Team of Composers Called Sleeping Giant and Their Unique “Re-Imagining” of Mozart’s Glorious Requiem, Topped Off with a Scoop of Graeter’s

DAYTON, OH (May 23, 2017) – On Sunday, June 4, 2017 at 3 pm in the Mead Theatre of the Schuster Center, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman, will present Sleeping Giant/Mozart’s Requiem, the fourth and final concert in the Dr. Charles and Patricia Demirjian 2016–2017 Classical Connections Season. Sponsorship partner for this Classical Connections series is Graeter’s.

Maestro Neal Gittleman and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra are excited to present a “re-imagining” of Mozart’s Requiem by a group of composers called Sleeping Giant. Sleeping Giant is the collective name given to a group of six American composers: Timo Andres, Christopher Cerrone, Jacob Cooper, Ted Hearne, Robert Honstein, and Andrew Norman. These “talented guys” (The New Yorker), who are “rapidly gaining notice for their daring innovations, stylistic range and acute attention to instrumental nuance” (WQXR) have composed a diverse body of music that prizes vitality and diversity over a rigid aesthetic. Their works have been performed in concert halls and clubs throughout the US and Europe.

For the last few years, Sleeping Giant has been reworking some historical musical narratives, one of which they recently worked on as part of a New Music USA Music Alive initiative with Albany Symphony Orchestra—a “re-imagining” of Mozart’s glorious Requiem. Today’s piece is not a rewrite of Mozart’s cherished Requiem but rather an arrangement as “an unsettling but reverential love song to the ritual of classical music.” This jointly composed piece challenges and reveres the original music by creating a unique perspective based on themes and moments found within the body of Mozart’s Requiem Mass.

The unique format of this concert features musical examples of Sleeping Giant’s work on Mozart’s Requiem, with description and explanation by Maestro Gittleman, on the first half of the program, followed by a full performance of Sleeping Giant/Mozart’s Requiem directly after intermission. A Casual Q&A with Maestro Gittleman and a Graeter’s Ice Cream Social will follow the concert.

Special Offer

This weekend, Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman and the DPO offer two different takes on one outstanding piece of music. The Masterworks Concert on Friday, June 2 and Saturday, June 3 presents Mozart’s Requiem in a traditional style, as composed and intended by Mozart near his death in 1791. The Connections Concert on Sunday, June 4 provides a more modern look at this classical masterpiece, as Sleeping Giant introduces some of its own compositions into this originally unfinished work. It is the wish of Maestro Gittleman that music lovers and Mozart enthusiasts will take this unique opportunity to hear both concerts featuring the same piece of music, Mozart’s Requiem, presented in two very different lights.

To that end, ticketholders to this Classical Connections Concert are cordially invited to attend the Dayton Philharmonic Masterworks Concert on this same weekend, either Friday, June 2 or Saturday, June 3 at 8:00pm at the Schuster Center, for free. In addition to Mozart’s Requiem, this last concert of the 2016-2017 Masterworks Series also includes Mozart’s lovely, once-lost Oboe Concerto. Maestro Neal Gittleman, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the full Dayton Philharmonic Chorus, prepared by Director Hank Dahlman, present the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at its finest. Likewise, ticketholders to the Masterworks Concert on Friday or Saturday will be admitted for free to this Sunday’s Connections Concert. For more information on this special offer, please call Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630.

Tickets for Sleeping Giant/Mozart’s Requiem range from $15 to $43 and are available at Ticket Center Stage (937) 228-3630 or online at www.daytonperformingarts.org. Senior, teacher and military discounts are available at the box office. For more information or to order subscriptions for the 2017-2018 season, including flexible subscription types that include performances by Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Opera and Dayton Ballet, visit www.daytonperformingarts.org.

###

About the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance

The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance was formed in July 2012 as the result of a groundbreaking and innovative merger between the Dayton Ballet, the Dayton Opera, and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Together, they are the largest performing arts organization in the community, offering a tremendous variety of performance and education programs and setting a new standard for artistic excellence. Dayton Performing Arts Alliance performances are made possible in part by Montgomery County and Culture Works, the single largest source of community funds for the arts and culture in the Miami Valley. The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance also receives partial funding from the Ohio Arts Council, a state agency created to foster and encourage the development of the arts and to preserve Ohio's cultural heritage. Funding from the Ohio Arts Council is an investment of state tax dollars that promotes economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohio residents. The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance is proud to be one of five performing arts organizations in the country selected to receive a three-year "Music Alive" grant from New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras.